Sign 'em up

I admire Steven Newton's commitment to open debate with young-Earth creationists in his comment on their attendance at Geological Society of America conferences (8 October, p 30).

But I worry that in the longer term they may want to get enough of their supporters involved so that they can elect candidates to the governing bodies of scientific organisations. It will be news to no one in the US that they are well organised and highly resourced.

One safeguard would be to ask all participants to sign a statement saying they accept that there is overwhelming evidence that Earth is over 4 billion years old.

This would challenge creationists and also give scientific societies a public relations tool. A similar statement could be drafted for evolution.

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